


Give a little. Get a little.

by wildcat34



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, Depression, Domestic Violence, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Rape/Non-con Elements, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-20 22:28:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30011910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildcat34/pseuds/wildcat34
Summary: Asami can only think of one thing, when a particularly attractive patients comes into her ER: 'Holy shit I love women.'.This patient may serve to be more than Asami thought, during her tiring shift. Blue eyes may have captured her attention, but what can Asami do to help this woman?It gets angsty. There are some trigger warnings for domestic violence/depression/suicidal thoughts in here.This is my first fanfiction, so please give it a chance!
Relationships: Bolin/Opal (Avatar), Korra/Asami Sato, Korra/Mako (Avatar), Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 17
Kudos: 76





	1. Busy Nights Get Busier

Nothing but the smell of hand sanitizer and latex gloves could be smelled in the air. The smell was familiar and comfortable to her as she found herself charting in front of the desk. Her legs, neck, and back were stiff and aching. She tried to shift her weight to a more comfortable position but found no such relief. ‘Maybe I should invest in some better shoes’ she thought looking down at her worn down sneakers. She filled out the rest of her chart, rolled her neck, and slid it into a slot. Walking away from the check-in desk, Asami found herself exhausted during the second half of her 12-hour shift. So far, it had been a busy night in the emergency room. You name it, Asami had probably seen and treated it today; from the sniffles to a guy with a nail in his calf (‘How the actual hell?’ was Asami’s first thought on that one.). To say it had been an interesting day would have been a massive understatement in the nurse’s mind.

The hospital had always been a place that Asami found herself being pulled in one direction or another. It’s not that she minds because she truly loves what she is doing, but it sometimes wore on her more than she would like it to. 

‘Today cannot get anymore hectic.’ She thought to herself.

As this shift kept dragging by, Asami felt like she was sleepwalking. This would make her fourth day in a row working a 12-hour shift. Working 10 A.M. TO 10 P.M. was, for the lack of a better phrase, kicking her ass. She hated it sometimes, but it paid well, especially nights. Looking at the clock that read 5:30 P.M., Asami determined that it was time to take a much-needed coffee break, while she had a second to herself. With that Asami sighed and made her way to the small breakroom not far from the front desk. The one good thing about the emergency department was that it had the least shitty coffee in Republic City General. She was grateful for that fact at this moment. Pouring the coffee into a to-go mug, Asami added an ungodly amount of sugar and a splash of creamer to the cup. She had been told it wasn’t healthy, but right now she needed all the energy she could get.   
Just as her ass hit the seat and coffee touched her taste buds, they got the call over the intercom that there was an incoming fall victim with and ETA of about 7 minutes. Internally, she screamed. All she wanted was 5 minutes to drink her coffee and rest her feet. It seems as though this shift has other ideas for her. She downed as much of her coffee as she could, put on her gown and gloves over her ruby scrubs, and went to stand by the automatic doors for the incoming trauma. 

‘This better be fucking worth it. Spirits, I swear if I chugged my coffee for nothing, I’m going to throw something.’ She grumbled in her head. 

A tall, dark-complected woman with long, beautiful silver hair and shining blue orbs came to stand beside Asami. The older woman looked over at her and gave her a motherly smile. Asami couldn’t help but to smile back at the older woman. When she came around, Asami’s bad moods would instantly lift. Something about her presence put her mind and body at ease. She reminded Asami of her own mother.

“I heard them say something about a fall victim?” Kya inquired peeking out of the automatic doors.

“Yeah. They should be here in about another two minutes or so.” replied Asami.

Pulling her hair into a bun, Kya turned back to see Asami almost looking borderline bored. With a cock of her head, a small wrinkle found its way between Kya’s brows as she studied the younger girl slightly. 

“Asami, honey? Are you okay? If I knew any better, and I do,” she added with a smirk “I would say you almost seem like your annoyed.”

The raven-haired girl raised an eyebrow at Kya and let out a small chuckle with a shake of her head. She always admired and hated the way that Kya was able to read her. Asami liked to think she could hide her emotions well, but she could never manage to hide it from the doctor. Working in the business of treating people for nearly 30 years could give a person that ability she supposed. 

She sighed, “I am a little bit. I just wanted five minutes to drink some coffee and sit down! Then this call came in as soon as I sat down. I’m just really tired and wanted to enjoy my coffee.”

“Awww my poor baby!” Kya said making the most sarcastic puppy dog face possible. “It must be so incredibly rough to be so young with a caffeine dependency.”

Just as Kya finished heckling Asami they heard the sirens of the ambulance in the bay. They both put on their professional faces and met EMS at the back doors of the ambulance. As soon as the doors open the two emergency pros are given a rundown of the patient’s condition.

“Female. Age 25. Possible concussion, broken ribs, and ulnar fracture. Vitals are stable, and patient is lucid.”

Asami’s breath caught, when she saw the woman that was occupying the back of the ambulance. She had a bruise that ran the length of her face on the left side under her eye and a cut on her lip. Though those things were the first to stick out to her as a trauma nurse, her useless bisexual brain could not get over the fact that the woman was, without a doubt, gorgeous. The only thing Asami could think about in the split second she came face to face with this woman was her eyes. Her eyes were big and bright and blue. Asami couldn’t place the exact shade of blue, but she figured she had time to try. A smile same to her face, when she thought about starring in to them. 

‘WAIT! I’M FUCKING STARRING AT HER!!!!’

Asami quickly made it a point to look anywhere but this woman’s face, but that did nothing but let Asami notice other things about the woman. She was fit. Like really fit. She wore a sleeveless blue workout shirt and grey sweatpants. Asami noticed her biceps along with her beautiful brown skin. What she wouldn’t give to be wrapped up in those arms. 

‘SHIT! Get it together Asami. You’ve seen pretty girls before.’

“Hi sweetie. My name is Kya, and I’ll be the doctor in charge of your case. We are going to get you settled in trauma room 3. Can I have your name and maybe someone we can call for you?” Thank the spirits for Kya saving her from mentally scolding herself for thinking about a patient that way. Kya never seemed to miss a beat and started toward the automatic doors with the beautiful mocha-skinned woman.

“Um, Korra. My name is Korra Fire. I would rather you not call anyone. I don’t wanna bother anyone just because I can’t look where I’m going.”

Asami noticed something shift in Korra’s eyes. Something was familiar about it, but she couldn’t place it. Asami decided to finally take her foot out of her mouth and ask, “Do you mind explaining what happened? It looks like you took a pretty nasty fall.” 

Asami had begun her evaluation. She got her blood pressure and other vital signs to being with. She tried not to get distracted as she placed the blood pressure cuff on the woman’s arm. She soon turned to examine the damage on her upper body and face. When she was looking at Korra’s arm that was possibly broken, something caught her eye. She saw a wedding band on the finger of this woman.

‘Well, there went that idea’ Asami spat in her head.

While lost in her own distaste for the person that married this gorgeous woman, Asami slightly froze when she noticed something else on Korra’s hand. Her hand held crescent marks on the insides of her palms. There were fresh ones there, but there were also parts of her palms scarred with the half-moon shapes. Asami wasn’t about to just write that off as part of the fall. She began to pay closer attention to the marks and bruises on Korra’s arms and shoulders. 

“Well,” Korra squinted her eyes at the nurse’s name tag. “Asami, I decided ‘hey I think it would be a great idea to trip down a flight of stairs’. Now here I am, in the emergency room with you guys. Pretty great plan for the day, huh?

Normally, when a patient tried to make light of a situation like this Asami would have laughed. Something just didn’t sit right with her about this, so she just hummed in acknowledgement. She felt like she was staring at an incomplete puzzle that needed three pieces to be finished, but she only had two pieces left. 

“Alright sweetie. We are going to get you some x-rays, while we wait for neuro to come and do a head evaluation.” 

“Thank you, Kya, but you really don’t have to do all of that. Just give me some pain killers and a splint, and I’ll be good as new!”

“Korra, you have some serious injuries here. I’m almost certain you have a fractured ulna and possibly a fractured rib or two. We just need to x-ray it to be certain.”

Suddenly, Korra seemed to sink into herself. She wrapped her uninjured arm around her chest, and slummed a little but not without a wince. She took a deep breath and sighed.  
“Okay, fine. Can we just do this quick? I was supposed to be getting things ready to have dinner with my husband.” She all but whispered the latter half of the statement. Gone from the room was the woman that was cracking jokes and replaced with the equivalent of a scared child. 

With a nod from both women, the radiologist wheeled in the portable x-ray machine to get shots of her arm and chest. Asami kept thinking about the marks on Korra’s hands. She had seen it before in anxious patients, but for her to have fresh marks seemed to send up a red flag in the nurse’s mind. The evaluation continued as Kya checked her head and face and asked a few routine questions about the accident. The x-rays didn’t take that long to come back, so they went to see how her ribs and arm faired. They told Korra they would be right back, and they left the room to look at the developed x-rays. Once the x-rays were up, Asami seemed to have found that missing third piece. 

Asami’s blood went cold, when she got a good look at the pictures. Revealed was, sure enough, a facture in Korra’s left ulna. That facture was accompanied by a multitude of other poorly healed factures. Asami’s gaze soon fell Korra’s chest x-ray and found a similar story being told there. She just stood there alternating between the two pictures. She had seen this so many times before. Now the girl’s hesitation made sense to both women. Asami flashed back to her times as a child and a young teenager, when she would be waiting for her mother to get similar pictures back from the radiologist. She felt a shiver run down her spine. An overwhelming and sudden lurch in Asami’s heart rang out. Her heart felt like it fell out of chest when she caught sight of the all too familiar signs she had seen growing up. It was like the world around her ceased to exist. Only one, overwhelming, thought surged through her mind.

‘Somebody’s gotta help this girl. I’ve gotta help her.’

She refused to allow something from her past affect someone else’s present. Unbridled rage wanted to consume her at that point. She wanted nothing more than to bash in the head of whoever was the cause of the trauma of this poor girl. As her thoughts began to swim with a violent wrath, a more prominent and compassionate part of Asami came to her as her thoughts went back to the emotion held within the eyes of the girl in the next room. Fear. There was fear in those beautiful blues. No matter how many jokes Korra tried to make, it was still lingering in her gaze. 

A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder. She hadn’t even realized that her breathing had become erratic. Her eyes traced their way from the hand to its owner. She was met with a concerned look.

“Asami, you and I both know what this is. Are you going to be okay?”

“I’m going to be fine. You know these cases hit home for me. I just… I have never understood how anyone can do this to another person.” She sighed and placed her hand over Kya’s. “We have to help this girl. There is no way to tell how long this has been happening to her. Should we call in a trauma counselor?”

“Well, I’m not sure how receptive she will be. She seemed pretty adamant on not being treated at all. She more than likely wants to hide it. We have to be careful about this. We don’t want to set her off or cause her to be more scared than she already is.”

“We can’t just sit here and not help her, Kya! You know just as well as I do that cases that look like this can only get worse. I have been through this enough in my own life to know how bad things can get.”

“I know, sweetie. Let’s go back in there and try to approach this delicately. Keep your emotions in here, okay? I’ll lead, but since you have experience with this, I want to let her lean on you a bit for this conversation.”

“Okay. Let’s do this.”

Asami steeled her emotions for the conversation that was about to take place. The walk that led to Korra’s room felt like it took years, even though it only took a matter of seconds. She had that small amount of time to school her face and the emotions that laid behind it. These cases were what drove her to become a nurse, if only to pay homage to those who helped her and to help those who couldn’t help themselves. 

Kya went into the room first followed closely by Asami. Upon entering, Asami noticed that the younger girl was fidgeting with the blankets and look noticeably uncomfortable. Most people would just chalk it up to nervousness due to be surrounded by medical equipment and personnel. Given the underlying information, you could tell she had a feeling of the talk that was about to take place. With a final deep breath, the raven-haired girl stepped further into the room to come beside the girl’s bedside. With a wide and bright smile, as forced as it was, Korra addressed the two women that stepped into her room.

“So, Doc, what’s the verdict? Can I get out of here soon, or am I going to be stuck here for a while longer?”

As Kya went to speak, the door burst opened, and a tall, lithe man with dark hair and amber eyes stood in the doorway. Korra jumped from the abrupt entrance and put on an uneasy smile as she saw who had come in. The fear was ever prominent in her eyes. Asami assumed who this man could be but kept her emotions in check. 

The man began to speak. “Honey, why didn’t you call and tell me you were at the hospital?! I came back home, and you were nowhere to be found. The neighbors said you were taken in an ambulance right before I got back!” The man’s voice grated on Asami’s nerves, and she winced the slightest bit. 

“Mako,” ‘So that’s his name.’ “honey, I didn’t want to bother you. You had just left to go to the store. It’s really no big deal. I just took a little fall down the stairs. These guys were just about to patch me up and send me on my way, right?” Korra’s pleading gaze was glancing between the two women. Asami’s heart broke for the second time that day with that look alone.

“Korra, you should have called me. I can’t have my wife being alone in a scary place like this. You must have been terrified by yourself!”

Asami did not like the way this conversation was heading. She had seen this trick one too many times before. Her anger came back tenfold as she recognized the situation at hand. This guy was trying to place a himself as a buffer, so Korra wouldn’t be alone to say anything. She had been trained to find ways around this dickhead. She was going to take every bit of that training to good use.

“I assure you she has been in great hands, sir. We were actually just about to get her up to CT to get her head checked out. She’s got a pretty nasty bump on her head, so we just want to be on the safe side and have her head checked.” Asami said. 

“When can I take her home? I’m sure she would much rather be curled up in our bed for some much-needed rest.” 

“Mr. Fire, we just need to run a few more tests to get her taken care of properly. We shouldn’t have to wait too long for the results to come back.”

“Please, call me Mako. Do what you guys do the best! I only want the best care for my favorite girl.” He finished with a charismatic smile. Upon first glance, this man seemed like a picture-perfect husband. To the untrained eye, nothing would have given away the wolf behind that smile. Asami knew better.

“Well, Mako, we’re gonna go get a few scans of Korra’s head, and we will bring her right back. Scout’s honor.” Asami added her fakest charm yet.

With that, she helped Korra into a wheelchair and began to make the stretch to the CT machine. She missed the glare that was sent after Korra when both professional’s backs were turned. The walk and elevator ride to the third floor was brief and eerily silent. The air surrounding the trio was like a loaded gun waiting to go off. 

Once they got to the CT machine, Asami knelt down infront of the woman in the chair and tried to catch the eyes that were looking anywhere but her. 

“Korra…”

“Can we just get this over with? I’m ready to get out of here.” Korra snapped.

The tone she used made the nurse flinch. It was cold and harsh. Far from the way she presented herself earlier. 

“Korra, we looked at your x-rays. I just need to ask you a couple of questions, if you’re okay with it?”

“There are no questions to be asked. Just stick me in the stupid machine, and let me go home.”

‘Guess we’re gonna have to use a different tactic.’

“He’s the one who did this, isn’t he?”

Korra curled in on herself as the tips of her ears turned red. “I have no idea what you’re getting at. I’m the clumsy asshole who tripped.” Her toned softened. “Can we please just get this over with? I don’t want to be here any longer than I have to.”

Asami hung her head. There was no way she was going to get her to admit he was abusing her. She stood and helped the woman onto the machines table. She went behind the glass to sit in front of the monitors with Kya. Her mind was racing with ways she could help her. Maybe she could try and talk to her some more, or maybe Kya could say something? No. Korra seemed to just shut down, when that was the case. Pressuring her into saying something is only going to make it worse. Getting a trauma counselor close enough to Korra was going to be next to impossible with her husband around. But what can be done? Asami decided she was going to form a safety net of sorts.   
She was going to have to see this girl again because she was going to need a cast. All casts have to come off, right? This gave her the opening she needed. She was going to give Korra her number under the guise of wanting to check up on her arm’s healing process. That could work! 

‘Okay, Asami, you’ve got a plan, but what’s going to get her to call you if she needs help?’ She was stumped, but it was the best plan she could think of. It was going to have to do for the time being. She just prayed to whatever spirits were listening that she wouldn’t see Korra end up back in her emergency room again with this or something worse. 

The scan was done by the time she pulled herself from her overactive mind. When she went to get Korra, she noticed the woman was still not making eye contact with her. Kya began to speak to her.

“So, Korra, everything came up clear on your scans, so we are going to get you into a cast and get some paperwork sorted out.”

“Sounds good to me.” She spoke with in a hushed tone.

Asami berated herself for having been so forward with her earlier. Maybe if she hadn’t done that Korra wouldn’t have become so withdrawn. When they got back to the trauma room, Mako was standing beside the door waiting on the three women. He smiled, when they came into view. His eyes only on his wife. 

“Scans were clear, but she does have a hair-lined fracture in her left arm. We are going to get a cast on her, and then you are welcomed to take her home.” The thought of Korra going home with this man made the two older women sick to their stomachs. 

“Sounds good to me!”

As the cast was put on, Mako went to deal with the paperwork needed for Korra to be released. Asami’s plan came back to the front of her mind, while she was standing beside the bed. She pulled out her notepad and began scribbling her name and number down.

“Okay, so I’m going to give you my number just in case you have any questions about the healing process, or if you have any pain.” She didn’t receive a reply. It seemed as though Korra was in her own world at that point. Asami placed her hand over Korra’s, and she finally looked at her. Asami gave her the sincerest look she could as she sat beside her on the bed. She placed the paper in her hand and covered it with her own. 

“Here’s my number. Call me, if you need to talk or anything. Day or night. Don’t hesitate to reach out.” She smiled.

“Okay” was all she got as she released her hold. Mako came back in the room as Korra was getting her things together.

“Alright. We will get out of your hair. Thank you all for taking such good care of her. Have a good evening.” And then they were walking out of the door with Korra saying a small thank you over her shoulder.

Asami sat back and felt a major headache coming on. She didn’t know what was going to happen to the woman once she was through those doors, but she hoped beyond all reason that she would call, if she was in trouble. A familiar hand found its way to her shoulder again.

“Sweetie, go ahead and take the rest of the night off. I know you have a few more hours left on your shift, but I know this one took a lot out of you. I can call in Asuna to cover for you.”

The younger girl was grateful for Kya. Even if she tried, she couldn’t have focused for the rest of her shift. So, she went to gather her things and headed back to her apartment. She decided that a hot bath with some Epsom salts would do her tired muscles some good. After her water had lost its warmth, Asami dried off and slipped into her red silk pajamas. She climbed into her bed and tried to find sleep. Her mind didn’t seem to want to shut off. Her mind was still running around what had happened earlier. Every time she closed her eyes, she was met with those big cerulean eyes. Despite her initial attraction to the woman, she did nothing but worry about her well-being. She tossed and turned to try and find comfort. She had wanted to help Korra so badly. 

‘I hope she gets the courage to reach out. Please be safe Korra.’ was the last thought that ran through her head as a fitful night of sleep washed over her.


	2. Relief Is Only Temporary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter took an EXTREMELY DARK turn. I really did not plan for it to be this dark, but I took in the direction that it flowed best. You're gonna get to see Korra's world. It's a fucking dark one. Y'all are gonna fucking hate Mako. Korra's backstory for how she ended up in the ER is in there. Needless to say, I didn't realized I was going to be writing something this dark. If you are sensitive to suicide/suicidal thoughts, blood, or abuse, please let this serve as your warning. This chapter has the ability to trigger people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings are very present in this chapter. If you're sensitive to the trigger warnings listed, this chapter is going to be hard the read.

‘I should have never called the ambulance. I should have just been quiet. I am horrible. I embarrassed him. What’s he going to do now?”

Korra’s mind started racing as soon as she turned away from the two women taking care of her. She was terrified of what was waiting for her as her and Mako made their way to the exit doors. Once out of the line of sight, Mako tightened his grip on her shoulder. So much so that his fingernails threatened to break the skin. Korra thought she was in bad shape before, but she knew once they were alone, Mako was capable of doing something far worse. She knew that Asami and Kya saw the damage left on her body. She was scared of them knowing. If this got out, Mako would take it out on her. She couldn’t say anything. Wouldn’t say anything for fear of her own self. She had no way out. They made their way to the vehicle, and Mako released his death grip on her shoulder. She wouldn’t sigh in relief because she knew what was coming. Mako slammed the door once they climbed in.

“What the fuck did you say?!”

“I-I d-didn’t say a-anything. I swear.”

“I know you said something! What did you tell them?”

“I didn’t say anything happened. I-I told them that I tripped at the top of the stairs and fell. That’s it! I promise.”

“You better hope that that’s true.”

Mako tore out of the parking lot. Korra didn’t dare move from the spot she was in. Mako was irate. She didn’t want to set him off even more. 

Mako was a detective. Korra knew if she were to say anything, he would be able to spin it in a way that nothing would come back on him. He had the ability to bury her if he wanted to. Bury all of the evidence she could come up with. He valued his job above all else. He was one of the youngest detectives in the precinct’s history, and he knew all the right people. That was one thing she knew not to mess with. So here she was, stuck between a rock and a hard pace. She could do nothing and say nothing. He would find her if she tried to run away.

‘I should have just kept my mouth shut earlier. You know not to bring up his job. You idiot. You could have avoided this.’

Earlier in the day:

“Mako, I just wanted to spend one day with just you and me!”

They had been arguing about the amount of time Mako was spending at work. Korra had planned for this weekend to be special. She put together a list of things they could do as a couple to celebrate their second wedding anniversary. They had been together for a little over four years now, so she wanted to make it nice. That was until Mako had informed her of a new case that had come up that morning. He would be spending the weekend at the office as he typically does most times. That was what led to their current fight. They seemed to be yelling at each other more and more every day. 

“You know you are such an ungrateful bitch! I sit here and bust my ass day in and day out FOR YOU! You don’t understand what I go through to provide for the both of us!”

“I DIDN’T ASK YOU TO DO THAT FOR ME! You never take a day off! You never have time for m-“ A slap cut Korra’s statement off. She grasped her stinging cheek and tried to push down the tears it caused. She was used to fighting the tears at this point.

“You do not get to tell me how to spend my time.” His tone was deathly low. His amber eyes had turned to fire. “You know how important my job is to me. If that means I have to sacrifice a weekend with you, then so be it. Do not question me.”

With all of the anger she had pent up, it seemed like her filter decided to slip away from her. She shoved Mako and began to scream at him.

“AND IF I DO QUESTION YOU?! THEN WHAT?! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO?!” Each question was punctuated by a push. They were standing at the top of the landing at the stairs. The fire in Mako’s eyes only grew with every shove he received from Korra. 

It was like the dam had broken, when Korra drew her hands away from Mako the with the final question. Korra couldn’t move fast enough to block the blow that he sent towards her face. It was like it was all in slow motion, and she was helpless to stop it as her eyes grew wide. Once his fist connected, Korra lost her balance on the edge of the top step. She flailed for something to catch herself, but it was too late. There was nothing to grab, and she was falling. With each step that she hit, she felt more of herself begin to slip away. She felt a snap in her left arm as she hit the last step, and her head bounced off the floor as she made contact at the bottom. 

She had curled into herself from the pain and cradled her arm. It was radiating from every part of her body, but she had a hard time processing it because her head felt like it was swimming. Mako came barreling down the stairs, but he didn’t stop to check on Korra. The fire was still held within his eyes as he glanced at her making his way towards the front door. He yanked the keys from the table by the door and made to go his car. The last thing Korra saw was Mako’s retreating figure as the door slammed before she blacked out.  
She couldn’t have been out for more than a couple of seconds because she could vaguely hear the garage door closing. Her head was still swimming, but the pain had finally registered to her. The tears had begun to flow freely as she thought about her situation.

‘I can’t just stay here. I have to get up.’

She forced herself into a sitting position, but that only forced her head to start spinning. She started taking in all of her injuries. She tried to move the arm that was previously cradled against her but nearly cried out with the slightest movement. It was then that her body went into flight or fight mode. Her body leaned heavily towards flight. She knew she couldn’t drive in her state, so she quickly began to scramble to find her phone. The task proved harder than normal because she couldn’t think straight. Something shined just out of the corner of her eye. Her phone had flown across the living room during the fall. The screen was shattered, but it still worked. She quickly dialed 911 and told them her address. Thoughts of the fight came crashing back to her as EMS arrived and loaded her into the ambulance. 

‘What have I done? How the hell am I going to explain this?’ was what consumed her thoughts as she arrived at the emergency room. 

Present time:

The car ride had come to an end, and not a word was spoken from the brief conversation they had upon entering the vehicle. A small beacon of hope made its presence in the form of a familiar car in their driveway. Korra perked up the slightest bit. 

‘Bolin and Opal are here! At least that will give me some time for Mako to cool off.’

They pulled into the garage, and Mako put the car into park. Korra didn’t get out of the car fully before she felt a muscular body crash into her. The force of the hug itself took her breath away, let only the ache in her ribs. She was lifted off the ground as she was enveloped by the young green-eyed man.

“Korra! Oh my gosh! We were so worried about you! How are you? Are you okay? Did I say we were worried?”

The rapid-fire questions of worry sent her way made her smile in spite of the pain the hug caused. She always loved Bolin’s child-like demeaner. He was always so caring and quick to make someone feel welcomed. He was like a breath of fresh air even on her worst days. Air. She needed air.

“Bo, I love you, but I can’t breathe. Also, it hurts.” She wheezed out.

“Oh shoot!” He quickly put her down and stepped away. He gave her a sheepish smile. “Sorry, I’m just so glad your okay! Well, as okay as you can be.”

Opal spoke up from behind her husband. “Honey, what happened? All we knew was that you were at the emergency room.”

She froze. Right, that. Mako decided to speak up for her. She had completely forgotten he was there. She was just so relived to see her brother and sister-in-law.

“She took a fall down the stairs, after I had left to go to the store. She has a fracture in her arm and small concussion. Some broken ribs too, but the doctors said she was lucky it wasn’t worse.”

Korra didn’t know if she wanted to scream or cry just then as she turned to look at her husband. There was hidden meaning behind those words. She was lucky she didn’t get it worse from Mako. She couldn’t do anything in that moment except to keep up the fake smiling mask. She turned back to Opal. 

“Oh, Korra. Your face! Let’s get some ice on your eye.”

Opal placed a gentle hand around Korra’s waist and lead her inside, followed by the two men. Opal sat Korra down in a chair at the table and went to make an ice pack. Opal came back quickly with a bag of ice wrapped in a towel. Opal was just as caring as her husband. They were a great match for one another. Korra envied their relationship. What caused these two brothers to be polar opposites had always escaped her. She sometimes thought she ended up with the wrong brother. She had always seen Bolin as a brother but still.  
“Here, honey. Keep that on there for a little while. Do you need anything? Pain medicine, maybe?”

“They gave me some at the hospital, so I’m okay for now. They did give me a prescription for something stronger that I have to pick up tomorrow. Thank you, Opal.” She gave her a grateful smile. 

“We can get it for you! Whatever you need, we are here!”

“Bolin, lower your voice. Korra probably has a major headache right now.” Opal lightly scolded her husband. 

“Oops, sorry.” He lowered his voice a notch. “Seriously, Korra, anything you need, you know we are always here.”

She felt tears start to form in her eyes. She really did have some good people in her life despite the bad. “Thank you, guys. I really appreciate you guys worrying over me. I’ll be okay though. I’m a tough girl.” She tried to flex her arms, but winced when she tried to lift them. Opal caught onto her discomfort.

“Why don’t we go get you a warm bath going? I’m sure your body will thank you if you did. We can also make sure your cast doesn’t get wet that way too. You’ve had a long day.”  
‘You have no idea how long.’ Is what Korra wanted to say but kept it to herself. 

She agreed with her sister-in-law as she place the ice pack on the table, and the two women made their way to the very stairs that were the cause for her trip to the emergency room. Opal kept a steady hand on her lower back as they ascended the staircase. They made their way into the master bathroom, and Opal began to start a bath for her. The other woman added some bubble bath to the water. She turned to Korra.

“How are you holding up?”

Korra sighed. “Honestly, I’m pretty damn tired and hurt everywhere. I really just want to take a bath and go to sleep.”

“I can’t even imagine how tired you must be. Do you work tomorrow? If so, you should probably call out. You’re going to be hurting even worse in the morning.”

“Yeah, I do. I know I should, but I really can’t.” She, honestly, wanted to be anywhere but this house tomorrow. Work was her way out. Time for more lies. “I know I’m going to be hurting, but I really have to get some paperwork done and new patients settled. Plus, I have one patient on the schedule who will only work with me.”

“Korra,” Opal used her best motherly voice. “You’re not going to be able to treat anyone like this. I promise you they’ll understand. You need time to heal.”

Korra knew she was right, but she really didn’t want to be anywhere near this house come tomorrow. It was bad enough she had to sleep here after what she just pulled. She was determined to give herself and Mako time away from each other. It didn’t matter if he was going to be at work tomorrow. She needed something to keep her mind away from what happened today and what was possibly to come. Fear and dread won out over any pain she was feeling. She could ignore it if she could act like everything was fine. It always had to fine. It would be fine. 

“Op, I know. I promise you I won’t push myself. I won’t do anything that hurts, and I’ll try to stay at my desk as much as possible. Don’t worry about me so much.” She put on an easy smile to try and assure Opal she would be fine. When Opal sighed, Korra knew she wouldn’t question her anymore about it. She knew Korra was strong-willed. 

“Fine, but you know I’ll always worry about you. I want hourly updates though. That’s nonnegotiable.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She huffed out a half-hearted laugh. Opal shut off the water.

“Okay, I’ll leave you to it. Yell if you need me. I’ll go get some clothes laid out for you. I’ll be waiting for you, when you get out.”

Opal left the bathroom. Korra began to strip her attire from her body. She finally had a moment to alone to look at the damage done to her body. As she stood, naked, in front of the mirror, she couldn’t hold back the shiver that wracked her body as she saw the black and blue that covered her ribs, arms, and face. She allowed herself to cry quietly.

‘Why couldn’t I have just left it alone. I know how much his job means to him. You did this to yourself. Mako was right. I am ungrateful.’

Korra turned from the mirror in shame and slipped into the bath. She didn’t find any comfort in the warm water that should have been pleasant to the aches running along her body. She just sat in the water and let the silent sobs overwhelm her. Her thoughts spun out of control. They just continued in a loop of ‘what if’s’ and ‘why’s’. She couldn’t understand when or how this had become her life, but here she was. She needed a way out, but she didn’t know how she could do it. The thought of a certain nurse came back to her.

‘Her number. She gave me her number. She said I could call her, if I wanted to talk. I can’t do that, though. Mako would know. He always knows.’

She felt more hopeless than ever. She was truly stuck. Resigning to living like this forever, Korra quickly put her mask back on and washed off, making sure her cast didn’t get wet and got out of the bathtub. She dried off and avoided the mirror, while she brushed her teeth and put her robe on. She exited the bathroom to find Opal sitting on her bed next to the clothes she had gotten for her. If Opal had heard her crying, she didn’t give that away. She turned her head to give Korra privacy to change into her night clothes. When she was done changing, Korra sat beside Opal on the bed. 

“You sure you don’t want any medicine? Or do you just want to go to sleep?”

“I just want to sleep.” Not only did she feel tired physically, she was also emotionally drained. “Thank you for coming to check up on me. It really means a lot to have you and Boling here.”

“We’re family, Kor. That’s what we’re here for. We look out for each other.” She wrapped Korra in a light and warm hug. She began to rub small circles on her back. When she pulled out of the embrace, Korra immediately missed the motherly warmth. “I love you; you know that?”

“I know Op. I love you too.” She gave a small smile. She soon shifted under the covers with the help from Opal. 

“Okay, do you need anything before we leave?”

“No, I’m okay.”

Opal placed a kiss to her forehead, and she left Korra alone in her room. She could hear the muffled conversation downstairs continue for a while longer. She knew Mako was still upset with her, but she hoped that by the time the conversations were done downstairs that he would be calm again. She tried to keep her thoughts from going as dark as they had earlier, but that seemed to be a difficult task. All too soon, there were muffled goodbye’s being said and the closing of the front door. It was judgement time. 

She heard Mako’s distinct footsteps coming up the stairs. She quickly made to face away from the door since her side of the bed was farthest from it. Once she heard the door click, she forced herself not to flinch and closed her eyes tight. When Mako walked in, not a word was said. He just walked straight into the bathroom. Korra wouldn’t allow herself relax. A few minutes later, Mako came out and silently slipped into bed beside her. She felt Mako shift and put his arm around her waist. She tried her best not to tense at the feeling of him coming flush to her back. She didn’t know what was worse: the fact that Mako was silent or him cuddling into her. The silence didn’t last long.

“I’m so sorry, Korbear. I didn’t mean for things to get so out of hand. Spirits am I sorry. I promise this won’t happen again. I didn’t mean to lose control. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Korra stayed silent. She just acted like she was asleep. The arms around her waste felt like a prison. Like chains that bound her to the fate of being a human punching bag. He always apologized and say it wouldn’t happen again. It always happened again. Always. She didn’t get any sleep that night.

The next morning:

She was wide awake as Mako’s arm was still around her waist. Her alarm was her only saving grace from a sleepless night. She had many like it before, so it hadn’t phased her. She silently and gently removed Mako’s arm from her body and slipped out of bed. Her body violently protested every movement she made. She always woke up an hour earlier than her husband because she had patients at 7:30. She went to brush her teeth, still avoiding the mirror as she got ready for work. She didn’t normally wear makeup, but today called for heavy concealer to cover her bruised faced and lip. Once she did her best at covering that up, she moved quietly to their shared closet. She put on her charcoal scrubs, opting to put on a long sleeve white shirt to help cover other marks. She soon returned to her room after getting ready to see Mako still peacefully asleep. She envied the way he always slept without an inch of guilt in his body. She shook herself from staring. She went downstairs to grab some pain medicine and a banana and yogurt and make her way to work. She was on autopilot as she made the drive one-handed. 

Upon entering the clinic, she was greeted by a smiling face “Good morning, Korra! Oh, what happened?” Jinora said.

Putting on her best smile Korra replied. “I took a fall yesterday. No big deal.” She shrugged.

“Obviously, it’s nothing! You’re in a cast for goodness sake!” 

“Jinora, I’m fine I promise. Now, don’t you have people to be checking in?”

“We’re not done here!” Jinora yelled as Korra made her way to her office in the back of the clinic.

She sat down in her chair and logged into her computer. She was going to have to figure out a way to do her job with a broken arm and ribs. The good news was that after the cast was off, she wouldn’t have to worry about recovery. Korra is a physical therapy assistant. She was never more grateful for her degree, than she was now. She wouldn’t have to worry about explaining the injury to a physical therapist. She could just rehabilitate herself. Now how can she rehabilitate others with this stupid thing on. She was coming up with a game plan as a knock rang from her office door. She already knew who it was. She didn’t even bother turning from her computer screen. 

“Good morning, Tenzin. I’m assuming Jinora sent you?”

“Good morning to you too. And yes, she did. Do you want to explain how you got a cast on your arm?”

“There’s nothing much to tell. I fell and managed to break my arm. Like I told Jinora, it’s no big deal. I can still do my job, so don’t worry.” She knew she was downplaying it, but she really couldn’t afford to be sent hoe right now. She needed to be here.

“Korra, you can’t do your job with a broken arm. How are you going to maneuver patients?”

She finally looked up from her computer to look at Tenzin. The physical therapist was always one to tell her to take it easy, but she wasn’t having it right now. She put on her signature crooked grin. “I can be crafty. It’s not going to affect my work, I promise. I’ll get Kai to help with some patients that might give me trouble. I don’t have that many difficult patients today anyways.”

“You’re not going to listen to me, are you?”

“Nope.” She popped the p.

“Fine.” He rubbed his forehead. “If I see you doing anything you shouldn’t be, you’re going home. Got it?”

“Fine by me.”

He shook his head and took a deep breath. “Don’t hurt yourself okay?” With that, he left her office.

‘Seems like I did a good job of hiding the damn bruises’ she thought. 

She got her plan in place and began her work day. She really didn’t have that many patients to see today seeing as how it was Friday, so she didn’t think it was going to be difficult to get around her injuries no matter how badly she was hurting. She was too stubborn for her own good. She soon found that her injuries did, in fact, impact just how much she needed her body for work. Thank the spirits for Kai. He was her favorite tech in the clinic.

“Korra, you need any help?” He had come up behind her, when he saw her struggling to hand a patient the weights needed for their exercise. Even the smallest amount of weight was making her ribs scream. 

“Actually, yeah, could you take over for me for here?”

“Yeah, sure, no problem.”

She was thankful for the fact that Kai didn’t ask any questions. She assumed that Tenzin had asked him to look after her for the day, and he did just that. He had helped her with almost every patient she had had today. Normally, she would have refused any help because she wanted to do things herself, but she knew when to take the help. At least, at work, she did. 

She was now sitting in her office. It had been a long and painful day for her. She only had successfully made it through most of her patients today without much too much help from Kai or questions asked (Aside from Jinora badgering her during lunch, and Opal texting her hourly for updates.), but she knew she had one last, very chatty, patient left on her schedule. She dreaded, but loved, Mrs. Wilson. She was a great patient but was nosey as hell and very particular. She would only work with Korra, and she made it a point to make a scene when anyone else touched her. She just wished she wasn’t hurting so bad, otherwise she would have enjoyed Mrs. Wilson’s visit. She got a call to her office phone from the front desk. That phone call was a blessing in itself. Jinora told her Mrs. Wilson cancelled her session for the day. A weight came off of her shoulders right then and there. Whatever spirits heard her pleas and caused that to happen, she was eternally in debt to them. She was so happy she had more time to recover before she saw her next. Since she was done for the day, she had extra time to finish filling out paperwork. Once she finished that, it was about 5:15. She still had enough time to run and get her pain meds from the pharmacy. 

She packed up her stuff and said her goodbyes to Tenzin, Jinora, and Kai. She got to the pharmacy just before they closed. Seems the spirits decided to give her a little something good today. Once she got everything she needed, she headed back to the house she had been avoiding all day. Mako had managed to beat her home. As soon as she stepped into the house, something was off. It was way too quiet. 

‘I spoke too fucking soon.’

She rounded the corner to see, what she assumed was a vase, shattered across the kitchen floor with fire lilies among the pieces of glass. She was in trouble she knew it. What she was in trouble for, well, that was something she was about to find out. Her heart threatened to drop out of her chest entirely, when she walked further into the kitchen to see Mako holding a piece of paper in a tight fist. His eyes held the same fire they had the previous day. She didn’t move another inch into the room, preparing herself for what was to come her way. 

“You fucking bitch! You did say something!” Mako had inconsolable rage flowing through his body language. His jaw was clinched, and every muscle in his body was rigid and ready to pounce. Korra was just as confused as she was terrified.

“Mako, I swear I didn’t say anything! I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She tried to seem as small and nonthreatening as she could. She didn’t want a repeat of what happened yesterday. 

“OH, YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT?! YOU DON’T KNOW?! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS THEN?!” 

He stomped over to her shoved the sheet of paper into her chest. The pain that came from the force of the movement almost made her collapse. She forced her body to stay upright as she took the paper. She uncrumpled the sheet of paper and almost cried out. It was the all too familiar life line she had considered the night before. That fucking number was the cause of this. 

‘He always knows. Lie! Lie you idiot! It’s all you can do now!’ 

She looked Mako straight in his eyes. “The nurse gave this to me to get in touch with someone, if I had any problems with my arm or ribs.”

“Oh, really?! You’re fucking lying.” 

Mako lunged toward her, took her by the throat, and slammed her against the refrigerator. Hard. Her head hit so hard and quick it started send it swimming again, whether that was from lack of oxygen or the concussion was up for debate. Her entire body was on fire and fighting to stay upright and conscious all at the same time. Terrified wasn’t even the word for how she was feeling then. There was an indescribable and horrid feeling overwhelming her body and mind. She was struggling to keep her eyes opened.

“Look me in my eyes when I’m fucking talking to you!” She tried her best to meet his command. He leaned, so he was only an inch from her face. “I saw the way that nurse was looking at you. You told her something!”

With the hand around her throat, it made it hard to think, let alone speak. 

“I…. d-didn’t s-say…. any… thing.”

The look in Mako’s eyes changed. The hatred and anger only intensified as did the pressure on her throat. Black spots began to fill Korra’s vision. She was going to blackout any second. 

“I get it now.” His tone was borderline sadistic. “You were flirting with her. That explains everything. You got her number just so you could get away from me.” He pressed his forehead to hers. Her vision was completely black now, and she could barely make out the words as he said his next words. 

“You’re never getting away from me. You’re mine.” 

Just as Korra was about to be out cold, Mako’s phone rang out loud and clear from his pocket. He finally released the pressure on her throat, and she collapsed on the floor. Korra was gasping out for breath. She couldn’t hear anything except for the beating of her heart in her ears. She missed Mako’s conversation. She was too busy trying to get as much air into her lungs as possible. 

“I’m going to work. We just got a break on a case.” His normal day to day tone was back as if what had just transpired hadn’t happened. That was one of the most terrifying parts of him. He could act like nothing was wrong. “Clean this mess up, while you’re down there.” He said picking up the paper with the number on it, walking out of the room and out of the house. 

Korra laid there for an unknown amount of time. She just wanted the ground to swallow her whole. She couldn’t take it anymore. She wanted nothing more than for Mako to have just killed her right then and there. At least then, she would be put out of her suffering and misery. She cried until she had dehydrated herself. Once she was out of tears, she just laid there as her entire body shook. She could feel everything and nothing as she stayed on the cold tile floor. 

‘Why won’t he just kill me? I wish he would just kill me already.’

‘What does he get out of this?’

‘Maybe I am worthless. I’m completely useless.’

‘Maybe I should just do it myself.’

She finally took in her surroundings. She spotted the broken glass on the floor. She crawled over to where the shards lay. She took a large piece and brought it to her arm. 

‘I could just end all of this right now.’

She shook aggressively as she pressed the piece harder into her skin. A small amount of blood started to trickle down her hand and arm where the shard made contact with both. She wanted to just end it.

But she couldn’t do it.

“I’m a fucking coward, too.” Her voice was horse and low, sounding foreign to her own ears.

She dropped the glass causing it to break further and breaking the deafening silence surrounding her. She couldn’t kill herself. She just couldn’t. She hated that she couldn’t do it. It would just be so easy to do it. 

‘I just want it end.’ Her body found more tears to shed as she sat there hoping that she could just find the courage to leave. One way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and feelings are always appreciated and welcomed. I wrote this chapter in one go without proofreading it, so I'm not sure how good it will be for you guys. Tell me what you think! Too dark? I have a feeling it's only going to get worse from here. Even I'm nervous for what's coming.

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first fanfiction! I really hope you guys enjoy this. I decided to come up with this instead of listening in Chemistry lecture (whoops). I got this idea after writing out different prompts, and my brain decided to pick all the angsty areas. Oddly enough, I got inspired by one of my therapy textbooks. And well, I'm a useless bisexual that has nothing better to do with their time. All feedback is welcomed! I'm still trying to figure out how to post on here, so I may run into so snags here and there. Tell me what you guys think. Is it worth the time?


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